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I was planning to go custom steel, but I found a good deal on a Xelius FDJ and couldn't resist the savings. The build will be moved over from my last bike for the most part, and right now I am just putting together the last few pieces. Basic build will be Sram Red/Force, Zipp 404's (or 38mm Chinese Carbons), 3T Ergonovas, and (hopefully) New Ultimate stem/seatpost.

Frame weight was a little disappointing as Lapierre claims a 55 to weight 850g, while my 52 came out to 1004g. Oh well, I knew it would be over, but I still expected to come in well under 1000g. Otherwise the frame and fork look beautiful, if not a little busy.

I will post more pictures as the build progresses, hopefully I will be "done" around this time next week.

A few teaser pics for now....

Last edited by xjbaylor on Mon Oct 01, 2012 2:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I really dig the Xelius. To be honest, they don't really jump out and grab your attention, but after test riding one, I was very suprised with the stiffness, handling and the compliance. In fact, if it wasn't for my wife giving me the stare of death, I would have probably ordered one!

Marzz wrote:I really dig the Xelius. To be honest, they don't really jump out and grab your attention, but after test riding one, I was very suprised with the stiffness, handling and the compliance. In fact, if it wasn't for my wife giving me the stare of death, I would have probably ordered one!

I absolutely love mine. I'm surprised at the weight though. My 2011 55cm ISP was the same weight, uncut. Built to 13.7 lb with Red and Boyd 38mm tubulars.

The solution for the wife is a Sensium! They make a good looking pair of bikes.

I am still waiting on the distributor to ship the cable guide that the bike was missing when I purchased it (brand new.) They don't seem to think selling the bike incomplete merits speedy shipment or good communication. Strike one against Lapierre USA/Seattle Bike Supply.

Now for a few more scale shots of the build kit. Nothing truly weight weenie, just a solid, relatively light, build.

I didn't "zero" the scale with the shipping protector, actual weight of the wheelset is 1250g. 38mm CC from Farsport.

I'm a little disappointed with the weights on the Syntace parts, but I love the quality, so they are keepers...though they may end up on my MTB soon.

May run an Ergonova Team that comes in at 199g, but probably will run the Williams.

Unless I decide to strip the red paint off of a pair of Zipp cages that I have I will be running these guys.

That's it for now. Hopefully I will have the bike finished in the next week or so if SBS will get me the parts I am missing.

The bike is finally (temporarily) finished and has successfully completed a shake down ride around the block. The first real test will come tonight riding a 50k loop I know well. Weight, before pedals, was 13.96 lbs, exactly 14.5 ready to ride.

Normally, I'm inclined to rebel against the chromopoly of Red/White/Black on road bikes (and kit), but this really pops and works in a way that seems unique. Maybe it's the proportions of each color or their placement in relation to each other, but this bike is on a different visual plane than the Spesh/Cervelo types. Again, two big thumbs up for the look. And that's coming from a guy who swears by all things fluo.

My only aesthetic advice would be to keep the two-tone red/white saddle scheme if you do upgrade to that Antares braided. With Fizik's custom option, you can get a white cover with red thigh glides, which would preserve the visual impact of your build and offer all of the same advantages of the basic Antares.

*IF* you want to get a bit adventurous and try something different, consider Fizik Dual Red/White Microtex tape for the bars. It would add a bit of extrovert red accent to the cockpit area, the colors would match the custom Antares, and Microtex is just plain awesome. It's probably the easiest light-colored bar tape to keep looking fresh.

Fashion aside, I can absolutely vouch for the Antares braided. I have a few thousand miles on Kium and Braided Antares, and the shape is hugely accommodating. Mine weighed a verified 157g, so the factory weight claim is legitimate. The nose is wider and more heavily padded than most lightweight saddles, so if you like to shift forward/down and ride TT-style for extended periods, this is a great option. It's also a great option because the entire length of the saddle is usable. I shift around depending on terrain, and I've found that it's just as easy to find a comfortable position when on the broad tail of the saddle. The Arione is longer and harder, but the flare of the thigh glides means that it's usable length is shorter than its 300+mm length suggests. The Antares Braided shell flexibility and high-frequency buzz attenuation seem excellent to me. My reference saddles are the old SLR (loved it), new SLR (not my bag), and the Arione, so you can see where I'm coming from.

My only aesthetic advice would be to keep the two-tone red/white saddle scheme if you do upgrade to that Antares braided. With Fizik's custom option, you can get a white cover with red thigh glides, which would preserve the visual impact of your build and offer all of the same advantages of the basic Antares.

-Tim

I appreciate the thoughts, the build is what I wanted it to be, if not just a little heavier than I would like. But it is/should be dependable and even utilitarian (by WW standards.)

About the saddle, my plan was to go with the black Antares with white glides. The aesthetic thought being to keep the tape matching the head tube while the saddle (mostly) matches the top of the seat tube. The white in the thigh glides would match the paint well, which doesn't seem to have any large areas with consistent coloration. The white/red does intrigue me, though it isn't really my style. I love bright colors on bikes but, like you, would (typically) lean away from black/white/red. This bike just happened to be the right deal at the right time for me, otherwise I would have been on a custom steel bike. Now I have more time to plan that purchase as I want it to be a bike I keep forever. I may go black/white on the Antares simply because I have no idea how long I will keep this frame, and I don't want my next frame to feature any red that isn't on a SRAM part.

Thanks again for the thoughts, hopefully I will have some updates soon.